Over the past few weeks, we have bared witness to yet again, the return of something that should have long ago been put down like a sick, aged old ugly animal. Deposed President Joseph Estrada confirmed yesterday that he had advance warning from confessed US spy Leandro Aragoncillo but was confident they would fail saying " I did not give it weight. I was confident that EDSA II would not happen". This once again put him back in the spotlight of the media, as he has been every chance he can get out of house arrest (which ironically is every other week).
Estrada claimed Mrs. Arroyo was moving behind the scenes and meeting with the deputies of then Armed Forces chief Gen. Angelo Reyes, then Armed Forces vice chief of staff Gen. Diomedio Villanueva and then Brig. Gen. Edgardo Espinosa. "I got that information but I did not pay attention to it because I was overconfident. And I trusted Angie (Reyes) and Orly (Mercado)," Estrada said.
Estrada’s story is probably true and it does not surprise me one bit. President Arroyo did what any other Filipino Vice –President would have done in that situation, find a way to seize power. And she did. Do you know why Arroyo is still president up until now? Because every attempt at her presidency has been thwarted by her, because she acted on it. Estrada did not, because he is well how should we put it: unintelligent. Does this story surprise anyone? Go back to when Estrada was in office. In the years he was in office we saw the peso devaluate in record numbers, the economy was in hell, and poverty, crime, and unemployment went up. WWJD? Nay. What WWVPGMA do. She took over (with our help) and Estrada has been in and out of the media ever since.
Honestly though, why are people still listening to this guy? Why hasn’t he drowned in his own pool of scotch smelling urine? WHY IS THIS MAN STILL IN THE NEWS PAPERS!!?? Seriously I remember having this conversation about Estrada right after he was impeached, I said "we need to exile this guy, We keep him under house arrest here it’ll be like keeping a pack of matches next to a stove. I was for the death penalty but decided against it because god forbid someone like him end up a martyr that would be the most pathetic thing ever.
No, we decide to be catholic and merciful and give him house arrest, which come to think about it is more like "do whatever the hell you want" arrest, seeing as he has been allowed to travel outside of his compound over a dozen times since his sentence. These visits are due to medical purposes (and those who watch the Sopranos know that’s complete bullshit), and because he is still around, every now and then he pops back into the media and tries to win back (unsuccessfully thank god) some support.
What people fail to realize is this: The man is a bloody criminal. In 3 years he stole as much money as President Ferdinand Marcos did in 20, and also drive the Philippines into a deeper economic hole…that has to be a record of some sort. He is on trail for Economic Plunder, that means he’s on trail for fucking up a whole country, an interesting addition to ones resume. Usually criminals are locked up and never heard from again, except for the likes of Nelson Mandela. We all know though, that comparing Erap to Mandela is an insult.
I mean look at him. Come on, just spend ten seconds looking at that picture of him and think to yourself, that man was the president of a country. Our country. This is the man who represented us, who spoke on behalf of our nation!
Pretty depressing isn’t it? I mean this is one of the best pictures I could find, all the others look like he’s dying or about to pass out.
But we can’t get rid of him.
Herein lies the sad cruel twist of fate of the sequels. Erap is very similar to the people who thought of the New ROCKY VI and Rambo VI movies that are coming out soon. They should know when to quit. They should no when to shut the hell up and think of something original. See if Estrada did something amazing and ridiculously unpredictable, like one of his stupid movies in the end where he always wins at least we can say: Holy shit, Erap just staged a one man coup by parachuting into the Presidential Palace, took out all the guards with a fork, and didn’t kill Arroyo but instead let her confess her lies and corruption to the Nation via a hidden tape recorder under his bullet proof vest…what a guy! But Estrada continues his sad race towards something unattainable, the same thing Stallone is trying to attain: Respect. But it is hard to respect people who annoy the hell out of us/
So what do we do about Erap? Kill him we make him a Martyr, Life in prison we run the risk of another coup (and it will happen). Exiling him seems to be a reasonable idea. If he tries to come back at least we might have some warning. Hopefully we can exile him to like, Brazil or something, so he can try to run his mouth and then get the shit kicked out of him. The saying holds true: “out of sight, out of mind”. Good Old Sylvester Stallone was out of my mind, as was Staron Stone. But no we get Basic Instinct II and Rocky VI, and just like that there in the news again. Estrada was also in the movie business, so he, like many washed up actors who refuse to go away, knows how to stay in the media: Just keep making an ass out of yourself.
